Inflating device



April 8, 1941.

A. A. JENNE INFLATING DEVICE Filed Jan. 24, 1940 A424 Izwezfioaw aim! r. 3 75% 9 Patented Apr. 8, 1941 UNITED STATE s PATENT OFFICE mrm'rnve DEVICE Aldred A. Jenne, Topsfield, Mass. Application January 24, 1940, Serial No. 315,401

. 1 Claim.

My invention relates to inflating devices and consists in anovel combination of a conduit and valve controlling mechanism .by means of which a deflated tire, ball, mattress, or similar article may be inflated without the use of a pump,

An important object of my invention is to provide means operating without wasting air for inflating an article by utilizing the compressed air stored in a tire or tank.

Another object of my invention is to provide means by which a flat tire can be inflated by using the air from a spare tire, thus eliminating the necessity for changing tires.

An important feature of my invention resides in a check valve located to permit the passage of air into the article being inflated but preventing the escape of air therefrom.

In one aspect my invention is an improvement on the apparatus disclosed in U. S. Letters Patent No. 1,492,838 granted to L. W. Dilweg. The apparatus disclosed in the Dilweg patent works satisfactorily where high pressures are involved,

mobile and that the tire I2 may be a spare tire or an inflated tire mounted upon another wheel of the automobile.

The flat tire I!) is provided with a conventional valve which includes a casing l4, and a plunger l6 which may be depressed against the action of a spring l8 to open the valve, Similarly, the spare, or inflated, tire lZ'is provided with a valve including a casing 20, a plunger 22, and a spring 24. The device of my invention comprises a rubher tube or conduit 26 having a lock nozzle secured to each end. At the end of the conduit connected to the spare tire the lock nozzle comprises a slotted cylindrical metal casing 28 disposed at right angles to which .is a serrated hollow shank 30 inserted in the end of the conduit 26 and movable in the slot in the casing. Within the casing 28 is a movable nozzle head 32 secured but the apparatus of my invention is particularly adapted for use in inflating modern low pressure tires under conditions requiring the conservation of air.

Briefly speaking, my invention comprises a conduit having means at both ends for connecting the conduit between two tires, one of which is deflated or partially deflated, and for opening the valves of the tires, and a one-way valve associated with the valve opening means at the flat tire, the one-way valve requiring less pressure for its operation than would be required to open the valve in the flat tire.

The several objects and features of my invention will be more readily understood and appreciated from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view showing the device of my invention in position to inflate a flat tire, and

Figs. 2 and 3 are views of cross section showing the connection of the conduit to the valves of the respective tires.

Although the invention is, as previously stated, applicable for inflating balls, mattresses and other articles using fluid under pressure, it will be described with reference to automobile tires, with which its use is particularly advantageous. In Fig, 1 I have illustrated a flat tire It and an inflated tire I2. It will be understood that the flat tire i0 is mounted on the wheel of an autoto the shank 30 and-carrying a concentric valve opening pin 34 arranged to bear on the end of the plunger 22. The casing 28 also contains a centrally apertured compressible rubber washer 36. A pivot pin 31 carried by the casing supports a handle 38 having a cam surface 40 integral therewith. To connect the lock nozzle to the spare tire valve the handle 38 is first turned parallel to the pin 34; then the casing 28 is slipped over the valve casing 20, and the handle 38 is turned down at right angles to the pin 34, When this is done the cam 40 forces the head 32 and the pin 34 downwardly, compressing the washer 36 and causing it to grip the valve casing 20. The pin 34 engages the plunger 22 and forces it inwardly against the action ,of the spring 24, thus opening the valve in the spare tire and permitting the compressed air therein to pass out and into the conduit.

At the other end of the conduit 28 is a similar lock nozzle including a casing 42, a shank 46, a head 46 connected to the shank, a valve opening pin 48, and a rubber washer 50, A handle 52 provided with a cam 54 operates in the same manner as the handle 38 and locks the nozzle to the valve casing M of the flat tire. In addition I provide a valve seat in'the end of the shank N and a cooperating valve member, herein shown as a metal ball 56', the latter being movably retained in position but, prevented from dropping out by the pin 48. The pressure required to move the ball 56 is considerably less than that required to depress the plunger of the tire valve.

In using the device of my invention for inflating the flat tire ID, the lock nozzle containing the ball 58 is first connected to the valve of the deflated tire Ill. The pin 48 depresses the plunger l6,

opening the tire valve, but the residue oi. air. it any,inthetire it cannotescapebecauseanyair pressuretromthetire iflcausestheballilto seal the valve in the hollow shank 44. The next step is to connect the other lock nozzle to the spare tire II, the pin 34 opening the valve therein. At this moment there is much greater pressure in thesparetire l2 thanintheflat tire Ill and air will rush through the conduit 26, move the ball 56 to unseal the valve'in the shank ll, and enter the flat tire II. Air will pass from one tire to the other until the pressure in the two tires is equalized. Then the lock nozzle at the spare tire i2. is disconnected. whereupon the plunger 22 rises to close the valve in the tire l2. The pressure in thetire ltmovestheballiitosealthevalve in the shank It so that air cannot escape from the tire ll through the conduit. when the lock home is removed from the casing H, the plunger it rises to close the tire valve and the operation is complete.

when the handle of a lock nozzle is turned down, the pin opens the tire valve just at the time the rubber washer is compressed to form an air tight connection. The lock nozzle is thus superior to the conventional threaded connector wherein a pin opens the tire valve before the conassvgcoo r nection is made air tight, thus causing the esca of air.

It is important tonote that the device of my invention insures rapid equalization of pressures without wasting air. The presence of the check ball 58 is responsible for the conservation of the air and the casing for the lock nozzle containin the ball may be distinctively colored to indicate the presence or. the valve therein and that it is the nozzle which should be connected to thetire requiring inflation.

The scope of my invention is not limited to the device herein described .with particularity but includes equivalent structures, as defined in the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is,

An inflating device for tires having spring valves. which comprises a flexible rubber conduit. a lock nozzle secured to the end or the conduit, a pin disposed in said nozzle for depressing and opening the tire valve, and a ball check disposed in said nozzle and retained therein by the pin,

- said check valve requiring less opening pressure 7 than the tire valve.

Amman A. JENNE.

*CERTIFICATE OF'CORRECTIOI I. I Patent No. 2,257,559. April 8-, 19m.

' ALDRED A. mm.

It iii hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of theabove numbered patent requiring correction as follows Page 2, sec- 0nd column, line 25, in the claim, after "check" insert the word -valve and that he said Letters Patent should be read with th-ie correction therein that the -same',ma r-conf orm to the recorder the cese in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 15th day of May, A. D. 19141. A

-Henry Van Arsdale, 7 (Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

